He was outdone by Rajiv Shukla, who theorised that Rahul Gandhi was shutting his eyes and listening to the debate very carefully, and then posited that Vajpayee used to do the same.

And then, Abhishek Manu Singhvi contradicted himself in trademark style; first denying that Rahul Gandhi napped, and then bringing up the fact that HD Deve Gowda used to nap regularly on the dais.

I'm fairly sure the UPA, which is otherwise unoccupied for the moment, will come up with more howlers, but here are a few to aid their cause:

Rahul-ji was not napping, he was praying

In this, he is following the footsteps of his allies. A few years ago, then Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar generously offered to pray for rain in the face of farmer suicides.

Clearly, as the Parliament was discussing price rise, and no one has been able to come up with solutions, our Gandhi family scion decided that actions speak louder than words, and spent his time communing with the Almighty for deliverance.

Rahul-ji was not napping, he was praying

Rahul-ji was empathising with the visually impaired

We all know Rahul makes a habit of empathising with people by temporarily stepping into their shoes, or, their homes, and appropriating their food and bedding.

In this vein, he was simply trying to understand what life must be like for a visually impaired politician on a regular day in Parliament. Now, let's all appreciate how thoughtful, generous, insightful and perceptive Rahul Gandhi is.

Rahul-ji was empathising with the visually Rahul-ji was meditatingHe wanted a break from the din and confusion of the Parliament. Sitting right behind the speaker as he was, he needed to focus all his energies on meditating upon the latter's words.Price rise is a serious issue, and Rahul Gandhi had to channel all his Zen towards understanding it.

Rahul-ji was meditating

Rahul-ji was protesting, like Yogendra Yadav

I mean, AAP are bachus, okay? They were born, like, yesterday. And if Yogendra Yadav can protest by sleeping, why the hell can't Rahul Gandhi do the same? He is, after all, from the fourth generation of this democracy's most dominating dynasty.

And if he's going to get his own meme out of it, is he not entitled?

So what if this was not a police station? You are equally captive in Parliament. Your food is subsidised and supplied by the taxpayers. You are paid a pittance to potter about. The only real difference is that, as an MP, you are empowered to give yourself a hike, which is not quite the case when you're a prisoner. But let's not split hairs, now.

Has that Rahul Gandhi meme gone up on Reddit yet?

Rahul-ji was protesting, Rahul-ji was observing a moment of silence for Brazilian footballHe is a citizen of the world, you see. And if Angela Merkel can skip meetings because of the German team, hell, Rahul Gandhi can skip a few paragraphs in mourning the Brazilian team.As if it were not bad enough that the World Cup is held at timings that are the opposite of conducive to all the gainfully employed in this part of the world, Brazilian football officially died one night, and no one bothered paying homage.

Rahul Gandhi, though, decided that 12.33 pm was the appropriate time to observe a moment of silence.

In fact, if you look closely, you will even see a black...well, not armband, but neckband.

Subtlety, as we all know, has always been his strong suit, and this was his subtle tribute to the exit of Scolari's thugs from the tournament.

So, before we get all excited about his erstwhile mentor Digvijay Singh saying he doesn't have the temperament of a leader, let's be judicious and understand that someone who is yawning and snoring is not necessarily sleeping. Ask George Berkeley.